July 6, 2005

Diaper Champ Knocked Out In Three Rounds

He coulda been a contenda'. I just threw out our Diaper Champ, which lasted almost exactly three months, ten months less than the Diaper Genie, in fact.

We liked the easy disposal method. The kid loved it; she'd play with that thing all the time, which is gross, I know. And it certainly kept odors in, although it apparently did so by absorbing them all straight into the plastic. That thing REEKED when you opened it, and it REEKED long after you'd take a full bag out. We tried cleaning it out a few times, but I just gave up and tossed it out.

For the money we've dropped on two ergonomically challenged, smell-absorbing plastic diaper bins, we could've been more than halfway to a sleekly engineered stainless steel Vipp diaper pail from Denmark which'll last a lifetime. Oh well.

For now, though, we're using these awesome plastic bags that fit right on the door knob. You just throw a couple of diapers in, they tie up easily, and you drop them down the garbage chute on the way out the door. The best thing is, they just give them away at the grocery store. Suckers.

13 Comments

About a year ago, the Wall Street Journal (yes! the WSJ)rated diaper pails. We went with the Neat! system by Safety First because they rated it as being the most odor-free of the bunch. And so far (6 months in), it's lived up to its promise. That said, downstairs we employ Greg's grocery-bag method with great success as well. If and when the Neat! pail gives out, we won't replace it - we'll just use the grocery bags upstairs.

The joys of living in CA and having a deck. We store our reusable diapers in a bin out on our deck. Using a diaper service means that we only have to handle a smelly bag of diapers once a week. Not too bad and on the road the grocery bags come in real handy.

Downstairs we use The Champ with scented trashbags, and keep a can of Lysol nearby. So far so good. Upstais we use a Diaper Dekor, which also does a pretty good job on containing the smell. Now, the boy is only 6 mos old, so I'll reserve final judgement until we've deposited a few man size poops.

"I've never understood why urbanites feel the need for these ugly plastic contraptions with unjustifiably large footprints. Wet diapers don't really stink (especially with all the new perfumed diapers). As for dirty diapers, we just immediately put them into a plastic grocery bag (free), tie it up, and put it by the front door so that the next person to go out can drop it in our building's garbage chute on their way. Its cheaper, easier, and you never have the regrettable experience of dealing with a yards long chain of stinky old diapers. And I just cringe when I see one next to, say, an Eames rocker."

I have been trying to decide which of these contraptions to get and its good to see some true life opinions. These scented bags people talk about, are they made for these type of diaper bins or just general garbage bags? Thanks.

You could be like my wife and I and infant potty train. We have changed maybe 10 poopy dipers. He uses the pot most of the time. He is 10 months old and now makes the sound we do when he is over the pot. think of the sound for peeing, well he now lets us know SOMETIMES when he nees to go. The other times he grunts when he's doing a duece so we take him to the pot and he goes. I thought my wife was crazy but it works.

We've discovered that keeping the minimalist_baby˘ 's soiled disposable diapers in an open container - specifically The Container Store's waterproof canvas 'Crunch Can' - (and throwing them out every couple of days) works beautifully.

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